Black Canary - Passing the Torch
by Nitewing1987
Summary: Alternative Black Canary origin story that draws from several different incarnations but primarily inspired by the Justice League Unlimited Black Canary. The story is grounded in reality and involves the original Canary (her mom) and Wildcat.
1. Offbeat

**Offbeat**

I was out with my friends at the Grell Music Hall to support a local band we knew. The show was 18 and up but since we had connections to the place they allowed our high school clique in. Most of my close friends were tied into the local music scene in some sense. A lot of them were part of street teams or aspiring musicians but I was content just being a fan and connoisseur. My true talent was in the martial arts and although my friends knew of it, I didn't discuss it much as it was a more personal endeavor for me. My mom insisted that it was important to learn how to defend myself and my dad agreed so I was put into kickboxing classes at a very young age. Neither suspected it would become my main passion though. I played other sports such as softball, volleyball, and basketball growing up but martial arts was always most important to me. The more I learned, the more fascinated I became with not only the art of kickboxing but other styles as well. I started reading books about the history of fighting styles as well as specifics in the techniques. By the time I reached high school I was a walking encyclopedia of martial art knowledge but didn't have anyone to talk to about it. Even my classmates weren't as into it as I. I wasn't comfortable embracing that side of me around friends and especially boys either. I just felt so different from other girls and at that age I wasn't completely comfortable with whom I was as a martial artist geek. Going out to concerts was the most enjoyable time for me and I had been looking forward to this night for a while.

I was chanting the chorus with the band when I felt someone grab my arm. I turned surprised to see two detectives flash their badge and say "Laurel, you need to come with us." They had to be loud to get over the music and I followed them outside without really getting a chance to say bye to my friends.

"What's going on? Is Dad okay?" I asked fearing the worst as my dad was a detective himself.

"Your parents are fine but someone broke into your mom's house while your mom was still in there. We are not sure what they were after but your mom somehow fended them off. Do you know of anyone that would want to harm her?" the first one said.

We were in the car now as they were taking me home.

"No one off the top that comes to mind, but considering my dad is a policeman I imagine there are plenty of people out there with a grudge against us," I added.

The second cop chimed in. "The thing is Miss Lance, since your parents are separated now; we believe this may have more to do with your mom than dad. It's possible but not typical for someone with a vendetta to attack an ex-wife. We are keeping all options opened but think it's a better idea to focus on enemies your mom may have. Anyone that she has been involved with that has had a conflict with her?" he asked.

"Not, that I know of," I said. I had lived with my dad my whole life and didn't really know of the people in her life. She ran a flower shop. I couldn't imagine her being a target out of some conflict; more likely an easy target for a cowardly criminal. I dismissed the crime as not being personal.

Despite the awful circumstances it was interesting to see my dad comforting my mom. They separated when I was very young and instead of fighting for custody my mom agreed to have me live with my father. I never truly understood the reasoning; all I knew was that they agreed that it was best for me. My dad would later on have another daughter that split time between my dad and her mother.

My mom seemed way too calm about the whole ordeal. She informed us not to worry and I got the impression there was something she wasn't letting us in on. I couldn't put my finger in on it yet but something was off. She didn't seem like a victim or even someone in denial of being a victim. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I've always felt something was off about her. She seems completely normal when conversing with her and I get a strong sense she loves me but was so comfortable keeping a more distant relationship with me. It became bigger than just this case; I really wanted to understand the psychology of my mom.

I sought out some of my friends in the technology side of the music world and it led me to a guy named JT that worked and lived in Platinum Flatts, a city about 30 miles from Starling that was the capital of the world in high-tech equipment. I asked him if he could help me keep tabs on my mom. I made it sound like this was for my own piece of mind and her protection, but I knew deep down I also wanted to see if there were things going on with her that she was hiding that might be putting her in danger. He gave me a tracker and recommended that I put it in her cell phone since it is likely she will keep it on her but never open up the battery part. As I was about to leave he stopped me.

"Wait Laurel, I don't condone or understand why you are doing this but if you really want to uncover information we should be thorough about this. Knowing where she goes and who she is meeting with is one thing but it may not be enough to learn what you want to know. I don't want you to run the risk of stealing her phone twice so let's do this. I'll show you how to install this so you can bug her phone and listen to the conversation. This way you will find out what you need much faster," he said.

"Thanks, I owe you big time," I said after we were done. I visited my mom the next day under the guise of normal concern but when she was in the shower I dug out her phone and planted the tracker in it.

I uncovered way more than I ever imagined.


	2. Road Rage

**Road Rage**

While listening to a conversation my mom was having I quickly discovered that she had a much closer relationship to my kickboxing coach than I knew. She secretly met with him in the gym and my mind started to wander. Were they secret lovers? What exactly was there relationship and why did she downplay it over the years? She had suggested to my dad that I go to Ted for kickboxing to help with my self-defense and build confidence but I figured he just had a good reputation. I had no idea they were so close. I didn't quite understand but while listening in I found out she did have some suspects that she didn't share with the police.

"So who do you think this could possibly be Dinah?" Ted asked.

"Too much time has passed for me to believe it's a direct rival. Jim Banko, Duchess, Huntress, Miss Masters, Blazing Infernos….. they are all dead, in jail, or have disappeared off the scene. My hunch is that this is somebody connected to them, maybe a family member or something," I heard my mom say while tapped into her cell phone. Was my mom involved in some criminal activity? I still wasn't sure what to make out of what she said. Afterwards they decided to meet at the gym after it closed.

During my kickboxing training later that day, Ted could tell I was off my game but I denied what was really running through my mind. I wondered if he was part of the reason my parents were divorced and what secrets he had with my mom. I was a regular there so it wasn't too much trouble to steal a key before I left.

I pretended to leave but snuck into a storage room while the gym was closing down and waited for my mom to arrive. After waiting until they were a safe distanced away, I snuck back into the main gym and spied on them. To my surprise, my mom was sparring with Ted. I almost laughed to myself thinking that my sweet old mom was going to try to suddenly turn herself into a fighter but figured a few lessons in self-defense may benefit her after what happened.

After a lot of stretching, they started sparring. What the hell? My mom could fight. She wasn't as quick and strong as Ted but her technique was just as advanced. This was not a woman who took a few classes; this was something she must have been dedicated to. I considered confronting them, but decided to leave instead. Here I was expecting to find answers and instead only stumbled on to more questions.

I started riding my motorcycle home and was coming up to my town when I noticed this Ford F150 tailgating me. I was already going over the speed limit and he stayed right behind me and started honking. I was irritated but didn't think too much on it as I shifted lanes. Instead of passing me up, the truck stayed right beside me for a minute and then suddenly swerved into my lane to ram me. I swerved away from the truck towards the sidewalk and slammed on the break and fell off the motorcycle but managed to avoid the truck. The truck was completely on the sidewalk and two men hopped out and tried to grab me and throw me in. I played possum as they carried me toward the truck and acted like I was unconscious at first, then as soon as they opened their car door I broke free and grabbed the back of the first one's head and slammed it against the car. I twisted the other one's arm and gave him multiple kicks to the stomach and head while still holding on to him. Then I swung him into the car as well while holding his arm. At this point the driver opened the door. I gave him a good kick to the chest before he could get out. I was boiling mad. His leg was hanging out the door a little bit. I pulled it out further and then shattered his knee by slamming the door on it. Soon the cops arrived and ordered me to put my hands up. They arrested me but took me to a hospital first to tend to my wounds. My adrenaline was pumping so hard I had no idea how bad my injuries were from the crash and how much blood I had lost. From what I was told, I feinted while in the back of the cop car.


	3. The Cat and the Canary

**The Cat and the Canary**

I woke up in the hospital and the first people I conversed with were detectives. It took a second for everything to come back to me but I felt I gave a great description of the ordeal. Passers-by only saw me beating up the three guys to a pulp so there was definitely speculation that I was the attacker in the situation but I didn't worry about it. I had a clean record and didn't foresee any way the detectives could conclude I randomly attacked three guys in a truck while riding my motorcycle.

After they were done, the nurse re-entered the room.

"Your family is outside, are you ready to see them?" she asked. I almost said 'yes' but hesitated before it came out.

"I do, but could you send in my mom and Ted first?" I requested.

The nurse didn't judge, she smiled and said "Sure, I'll be right back."

"How are you feeling dear?" Mom said.

"I'm fine Mom, there was no serious damage," I said with a smile.

"It's a good thing you have been taking lessons from Ted, if you hadn't who knows what would have happened to you out there," she said.

Ted chimed in, "I'm really proud how you handled yourself out there Laurel."

I changed the topic and tone to get to what was really on my mind. "Look, I don't want to invade in yawl's privacy but both of you have some explaining to do because your problems have now become my problems."

Ted gave me a curious look, "Laurel, what are you talking about?"

I got pissed off. Usually I can control it but I can be quick-tempered and started to get very loud with them. "Damnit! Quit acting all innocent! I was almost killed yesterday and yall wanna act like this! You gotta be kidding me!"

The nurse came back in. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

Before my mom could respond I cut her off and answered myself, "Yes. It's fine. Leave us."

My mom put her hand on my leg and with a sad face said calmly, "Larry said the men that targeted you are connected to a criminal he once had to shoot. This has nothing to do with us. What is bothering you so much about me and Ted?"

I calmed down and said, "Oh. Well, you two are involved with something secretive and I don't like it."

Once the nurse left, my mom finally decided to let me in on the family secret.

She explained, "Laurel, when we were young we were vigilantes in the city somewhat similar to what Batman does in Gotham. We didn't have all the gadgets but we trained extensively in martial arts and found ways to bring some of Starlings worst criminals to justice. Ted was known as Wildcat and I was called the Canary. I was hoping to keep my family separated from my vigilante life forever. However, there is no reason to believe that this attack has anything to do with that. Larry told us that this resulted in a vendetta against him. No criminals know that we were the Cat and the Canary."

"Does dad know about this?" I asked.

My mom continued, "I maintained a relationship with Larry but he refused to commit to me until I decided that I was finished being a vigilante for good. Even after having you, I still kept going back to that life. Larry told me that I had to choose between my family and being a vigilante. I got upset with him for making me choose but understood his concern for my well-being as well as yours. Eventually he left me and took you as well. I didn't fight it."

"But you gave up being the Canary some time ago, why didn't you reconnect with us later on?" I asked.

My mom teared up and smiled at the same time. "By that time, Larry didn't want to be with me anymore. He had moved on and I felt that I should as well. He even had a new daughter in Sara. It was painful to see the consequences of my choices and it was hard for me to reconnect with you more personally after I had been absent for so long. I've been a selfish mother that couldn't put my own daughter first in my life and felt like I would never be the mother you deserved."

"Well…. right now we have bigger issues. We locked up those men that came for me but what if there are more?"

"You do not need to worry; we will take care of it dear. You just rest up and get better," she said.

Ted joined back into the conversation saying, "Dinah, we aren't what we use to be. I know you want to take this type of matter into your own hands but you saw what happened last time it happened a few days ago. You were lucky to escape with your life."

My stubborn mom argued, "Ted, I just haven't trained regularly lately. I can get back to form."

Ted started getting upset, "Dinah! No you can't. You are into your 40s now. You have to accept that. We have to leave it to the police from now on, you aren't what you use to be and won't be able to recover from injuries like you used to."

They continued to argue and I had to side with Ted. I was disappointed to learn that my mom had completely lied about being attacked in the house and instead was out trying to stop a robbery in Platinum Flatts. I wasn't sure whether to admire her selflessness or feel angry that she cared more about the well-being of the city than me. Before they left, the one thing they could agree on is that I needed to rest, recover, and not worry because my dad would provide the proper protection. I acted like I agreed but already started making my plans. This was personal and my blood was boiling way too much to let it go. I was too stubborn and strong-willed not to take things into my own hands. Despite not living with my mom, I was just like her. I was raised to be independent and take care of my own problems. I know what I learned didn't apply to this situation but the idea of letting other people handle it didn't register in my mind. Afterwards I let them go and the rest of my family visited me. I kept the information about my mom and Ted a secret. My dad informed me that the three hitmen were still in the hospital in far worse condition than I. "You really gave it to them Laurel, I had no idea you had all that in you," he said.

"He hasn't seen the half of what I'm capable of," I said to myself.


	4. Clubbin'

**Clubbin'**

I checked out the hospital the next day and immediately contacted JT and met at his place. I didn't give him the full story but instead got to the point of what I wanted.

"You want to fight crime and you went to a sound guy? Do you want to use sound equipment? What are you going to do, make everybody go deaf," he laughed and then continued. "Look, I know how to do some simple hacking and tracking stuff but I can't turn you into Batman."

I sighed, "Nevermind it was stupid."

"No its not, we can make that work. But you are going to need some good headphones to use as ear plugs or something. And you would have to be able to turn them on and off. Actually you might be on to something." JT started letting the ideas and thoughts flow. I was no longer part of the conversation as he was coming up with suggestions and shutting them down in his own little world. Eventually he addressed me again and said, "Hey L, I'll think about it and get some stuff together and hit you back. I can cook up some things but it's gonna take me a minute to figure it out. What you gonna give me though?"

I was speechless. I didn't know what I could really offer him to justify him helping me in such a big way.

"Ummmm I don't know? What do you have in mind?" I asked.

He laughed, "it's cool you don't have to give me anything but if I need a favor I expect you to come through for me. Also, just know I'm keeping your equipment on a tight budget, if you need something more expensive you gonna have to give me some real money to work with."

"I gotcha," I responded.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury on waiting for him to get back to me though. My dad set us all up with cops to keep watch over my mom, Sara, and me. It was very awkward especially since I was in high school and Sara was in elementary school. They did their best to stay undercover but I hated the feeling like I was always being watched.

After arriving back in Starling I stopped at Ted's gym for my kickboxing training. In the middle of the session I started bombarding him with questions about him and my mom and we ended up stopping early to discuss things. After a while he steered the conversation towards the present.

"Laurel, I'm worried your mom is going to get herself killed. She is going out tonight to work the same case that led to her injury," he said.

"I'm sure she will be fine," I lied. I still had the ability to track her and could follow her to wherever she went. I intended to help her tonight without Ted or her knowledge.

"So how did she keep her identity a secret if she didn't wear a mask like you," I asked him.

"Easy, she wore different wigs and sometimes glasses. No one could really pin down a good description on what the Canary looked like. Actually, it was beyond hairstyle. Dinah will wear certain makeup, clothes, talk a certain way, have certain mannerisms, and just create a temporary character that fit for the mission. She often would go undercover and earn the enemies trust before sabotaging their operation from the inside. Sometimes less is more when it comes to disguising yourself. As long as you make sure that no one you know sees you up close," he explained. I took his word for it and picked out a long blonde wig on my way home.

To ditch my cop bodyguards I snuck out the second story window. My house was close enough to the neighbor that I was able to jump to the neighbor's roof without too much trouble. After I climbed down to their backyard, I went out to the sidewalk. With the long blonde wig on, the cops immediately assumed I was a neighbor and didn't pay me too much attention as I walked down the street and waited for a cab.

I was able to track down the location of my mom in downtown Starling. I already had a fake ID that passed me for being 18, which was all I needed to get into most places. I got in line for the club myself although it was awkward when the bouncer was checking my ID and saw that I looked vastly different because of my wig. I pulled the wig back a little so only he could see a piece of my real hair. I quietly said, "it's a wig" like I was embarrassed to be wearing one. He did his last double take and let me in. I entered the club trying to act as natural as possible but trying to find my mom. I spotted her rocking a jet black wig as opposed to her natural short brown hair wearing an outfit that suggested she was much younger than she was. I talked to random guys, babysat a few drinks and even danced some. During all this, I kept an eye on my mom and noticed she started chatting it up with a young guy and made some suggestive interactions. It took about two hours but eventually she left.

I waited a minute and then left as well following them until they dipped into an alley. I stood at the corner of the building trying to listen but I couldn't make out any words. Every few minutes I would walk across on the sidewalk and look at them in the alley out the corner of my eye. I stopped at the other corner where the alley meets the road continuing to take peaks at them every now and then. It was very disturbing at first, since they were making out and my mom was starting to loosen his belt. I was starting to get worried that I was going to witness my mom having sex with this dude she met in the club and this had nothing to do with her work as the Canary. Thankfully, it was an act though. All the kissing and grabbing with each other ended as she suddenly started beating him up and threatening him about giving up a location. Soon, I saw some dudes exiting the club and moving my direction quickly. They were moving faster than a walk but trying to remain inconspicuous. I pretended to be walking toward the club. After they passed by me, I switched direction and followed behind. My fears were realized as they made a right turn right into the alley where my mom and the guy were in; somehow the guy must have alerted them or my mom was made earlier in the night. It was four of them and no one else seem to be coming from the direction of the club so I didn't expect any more surprises.

The first guy my mom was with yelled out, "This bitch poking her head in our business yo! Tell us who put you up to this or we cappin' yo ass right here!"

My mom had nowhere to go in the alley and I saw the despair written all over her face. The four guys were armed but only two had their guns out so I had to get them first. The alley was dark so I was able to sneak close without being noticed. Relying on the element of surprise, I snuck behind the two men with guns out. Thankfully, they were standing close together and I was able to get behind them, grab both of their heads and bang them together. As the third reached for his weapon I was able to kick it out of his hands. I turned towards the fourth and my mom had already pounced on him and was disarming him. Taking the guns out of the equation was just the start though. It became a two-versus-five scuffle. We seemed to be in control at first but my mom took a few hard shots and I did what I could to pick up the slack to fight the rest. Out of nowhere Ted showed up and laid a few out to give us the advantage. After they were all knocked out my mom insisted that we take one hostage in order to determine the location of their secret house. I wanted to get the cops involved but my mom insisted that they would never confess to the cops but we may be able to beat an answer out of one. Ted told me to grab one so I carried the smallest one out of the alley and threw him into the car Ted had parked near. A passer-by noticed the unconscious man I was dragging along and asked, "Is he alright?"

My mom quickly responded, "Sure, her husband just drank too much tonight," and smiled at them. At that point it hit me that if Ted would've been dragging the dude it might look more suspicious so that's why he had me do it. After we were all in the car I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I just saw my life flash before my eyes but Ted and Mom weren't phased one bit.

"I figured I would find you here Canary, but not you," Ted said as he gazed at me.

"Ted…" I started but he cut me off, "We have an enemy around don't call me by that name, even if he is unconscious. It's Wildcat now."

Ted nicknamed me Lil Canary as we discussed our hostage situation. They had a secret hideout for this type of thing but appeared to not have used it in a while. It felt so surreal to be discussing holding someone in a private prison but the casual attitude Ted and Mom had made it apparent that they once did it all the time. Ted convinced her that if we had his wallet and cell phone we will be able to dig up all we need and his type probably wouldn't tell us much more. We took pictures of his name and address and put the wallet back into his pocket so it seemed like we didn't go through it. We decided to keep the phone though to trace numbers and see if we could determine who his boss was.

We passed plenty of cops on our way out as someone must have seen the fight occurring in the alley and informed the cops. After we got a safe distance away, we dropped the unconscious man named Javier at a bench at a bus stop.

I was able to sneak back into my house with no problem but let my guard down after I got in. I managed to avoid the cops stationed by my house but Sara caught me on my way to my room.

"Where did you go Laurel?"

"Don't worry about it Sara, go back to sleep."

"Tell me."

"No. It's none of your business."

"If you don't tell me, I'm going to tell Dad," she threatened. I couldn't believe my nine year old sister pulled that card on me.

"I'll tell you in the morning, just please keep quiet for now. I'll take you to go get ice cream tomorrow. How does that sound?" I suggested.

"Awesome, yeah let's get ice cream tomorrow."

The next day she didn't drop it though. I eventually made up a lie about going to a costume party to explain my wig. That kept her satisfied and quiet.


	5. Training Day

**Training Day**

After all the commotion Friday night, I woke up super late on Saturday. I told my dad that I was up watching movies, and Sara kept to her mouth shut as she said she would. I still owed her ice cream and had to make sure I fit that into my day somehow. I called Ted after I ate breakfast to see if he had started on the phone tracing.

"These newer phones are set up a bit differently so I might need to seek out one of my connections to trace it. The main person that calls is from a blocked number and soon this guy may have all the information on the phone erased," Ted explained.

I immediately called JT to get us on a three-way since time was of the essence. I didn't want to go through sneaking away from the cop guards outside my house again so I suggested that we just meet at Ted's gym. My dad was going into the station as well that day so I had to bring Sara along with me. At first, Ted and I did our normal routine but also included Sara in the exercises so she wouldn't be left out. Ted had me take over training with Sara while he met with JT. She seemed to be really enjoying it which surprised me. She had been exposed to martial arts before and showed potential initially but didn't seem to share my passion for it. At this moment it appeared that she enjoyed it as long as I was the teacher though. I had forgotten what I was there for until one of Ted's assistants offered to take over for me so that I could go join them.

"Nooo, I want to fight with Laurel," Sara said.

"Marcus is really good, you can learn a lot from him," I said to her.

Her shyness started to show as she was certainly less comfortable and expressive when I wasn't around but was willing to work with him.

JT was able to hook the phone up to his laptop and pull up the information from the blocked number. It was a guy named Tyson Klik who was robbing jewelry stores for an even higher boss known as the Dodger. Tracking the Dodger was a dead end but we knew we could find Klik.

When I entered the room my mom was there as well.

"If we follow Klik around it might give us leads but I doubt Klik is doing the heist himself," Mom said.

"We don't want a full confrontation. Let's just identify him and track him until something else comes up that we can use. Right now we don't have enough to catch him and prove that he is the one behind it all without coming out with our own recent activities," Ted pointed out.

"So you think we should just let them hit another store until we have more evidence? They are going to be on the lookout for us. The longer we play the tracking and gathering information game, the more chances he will have to catch us," Mom stated.

"Not to mention, who is going to apprehend them? We have the experience, Laurel has the youth but no one here has both. If we travel as a group we are more likely to be identified by them too," Ted said.

"I can handle myself just fine Ted," Mom argued.

"Dinah, twenty years ago if you were in the same situation as last night you would have dashed out of that alley before they had a chance to roll up on you. There was an exit the other way, but you knew you wouldn't have been able to run fast enough. If we are going to get the guys it has to brain over braun," Ted told her.

After a while JT got more in the conversation. "Can we predict which spot will be targeted next? There can't be too many jewelry stores and we can probably find a pattern with the ones they pick."

There was truth to that but it still left plenty of options in the area. The spots they hit expanded over an 80 mile radius of the Starling metropolitan area.

"Hey I got it, let's put in mini microphones near the different jewelry stores. Using the radio, you can switch to different channels to check different locations. If we hear suspicious noise at one, then we will know they are there. The only problem is, we will have a lot of stores to visit." JT suggested.

"And a lot of microphones at each location, we won't know where they are going to enter the building. It will be a lot of microphones to deal with," Ted said.

I added my input as well, "Well, it would be a lot of work to set them up outside of the building but maybe not inside the building. We could go to the jewelry stores when they're open and plant the microphone near the most expensive jewel. We may not know where the thieves are until it's a little late but it would cut down the amount we need and have to check."

Ted said, "I agree, but I still want us to keep tabs on Klik until that time comes. We need every advantage we can get to make sure this happens smoothly. Even if we figure out the store, then what?"

Mom rejoined the conversation, "I know. We call the cops as an anonymous tip to make sure they are on the scene and heading in the right direction. They do robberies that allow them to take their time and escape without any suspicion. As long as we can find the vehicle we will be able to stay on it easily, this won't be some high speed chase. Once we get close enough to the vehicle we do something to slash a tire or demobilize the vehicle. Once they are stuck in the city with a bunch of jewels and the cops are on their tail, they will be screwed."

Of course in this line of work, plans never go as smoothly as they sound.


	6. Starling Vigilantes

**Starling Vigilantes**

JT was invested in our goal to bring down Klik's gang so he helped identify the likely jewelry stores to be hit and placed mini microphones in the areas. He gave each of us wireless devices so we can listen in on the different channels assigned to the different stores. If there was considerable noise from one, we were alerted like an alarm to switch to the channel.

We had a few quiet nights but eventually a store named Nicole's on the outskirts of Platinum Flatts had some unexpected noise. We listened in, there wasn't much talking to make out for sure what was going on but it sounded like it could be Klik's gang.

I snuck out again through the rooftops. I wanted to bring my own motorcycle but there was no way I could sneak away with it. Ted picked me up in his truck once I got a safe distance away from my house. He had two motorcycles in the back for my mom and me. My mom's job was to lay down these huge tacks that could puncture a tire right in front of their wheel and drive off quickly. My job was to place a tracker on their getaway car should the first plan not work. Ted's was there to assist with the tailing but also pick us up in the truck should something go wrong and we needed to escape.

I got to the jewelry store and scoped out what was going on for our crew. JT made us ear pieces that allowed us to communicate easily. In order to hide suspicion, Mom and I had them hidden under our wigs.

"I see them. They are hauling bags out now from the store," I said.

"How many of them are there and what are they driving?" he asked.

"It's a black minivan. I think it's a Saab," I responded.

"How many?" he repeated.

"There's four," I answered.

"I see. Yeah I suspected they would be focused less on getaway speed and more on remaining inconspicuous," Ted said.

My mom came into the conversation. "Which direction are they heading?

"They are set up to go south on Morehead but they haven't started moving yet," I said.

Ted said, "Green Canary, just make sure you keep an eye on them and tell us where they are going. Black Canary, be patient you got the west covered and I got the east so we won't lose them."

"Okay, they are moving south on Morehead, they are turning right on Park and heading your way Black Canary," I said.

"Blue Dog, you're on," said Ted to signal to JT to call the cop as an anonymous witness.

The idea was that they would be less suspicious of someone ahead of them on the road compared to someone tailing them. I kept a safe distance behind them while my mom stayed a few streets in front. I directed her according to where it seemed like they were heading.

"Wildcat, what's your distance?" Mom asked.

"Don't strike just yet, wait about half a minute so I can get closer," Ted said.

My mom slowed down some so that their van would tail her closer. Then as soon as they signaled to overpass her she pressed the button to spew all the tacks on the road behind her. She swerved into the other lane as well spilling it all over so they would definitely run over some. Afterwards she kicked the motorcycle in high gear and tried to make a turn at the upcoming intersection but one of the members in their crew must have been a really good shot. Although the car was losing his control he managed to pull out his piece and fire a few shots with one hitting my mom's right arm while she was turning, which caused her to have a nasty crash.

I was ready to panic but Ted took control of the situation immediately. "I'm going after Black Canary. Green Canary, cause a distraction but keep a safe distance away."

I actually wasn't that scared going into the mission but now that our plan had been changed I was freaking out inside although I kept my mouth shut. With their van no longer driving correctly the four of them hopped out. Two of them ran towards my mom with guns out and the other two ran the opposite way with trash bags of jewels. Before I knew it, the plan changed again.

"Black Canary, retrieve the jewels, I'll get the armed ones," Wildcat said.

The two were dashing across the street and I decided to go for the trailing one first. I didn't know if they had guns on them but I thought if I attacked the one in front first, that the second may get a chance to shoot me. Mom and Ted had kept these metal bars about two feet in length that I knew would come in very handy. The one trailing didn't see me coming until it was too late. I sped up to about 100 mph heading towards him and stuck my hand out with the bar extended to clothesline him. Afterwards I turned the motorcycle around as fast as possible and headed for the next leaving the bag of the jewels in the middle of the road. I started driving towards the other looking to do the same thing but this guy was facing me and aware of my attack. Once I got close, he threw his jewelry bag right at my face. I managed to dodge it but had swerved very hard and found myself heading right towards a car parked on the side of the road. I did everything I could to avoid the car but in the end I had to abandoned the motorcycle and jump off. There is no such thing as a safe landing in that situation but I did what I could to roll when I hit the ground as opposed to having all my momentum reaching a sudden stop and breaking some bones.

I was banged up but felt that I would be alright physically. It didn't seem it would last long though, when I looked up, the jewel thief had pulled a gun on me.

At his point, the cops were showing up and the other two thieves were making a run for it. Ted was able to drive the truck close to my mom and shield her from the arm thieves, then he put her inside and was able to drive off.

"How are you doing on your end Black Canary," Ted asked.

"I'm fine and I got my two. The jewels are still in the middle of the road though."

"Forget about that, let the police handle it. You just get out of there, are you on your motorcycle?"

"Yeah."

When I looked up, I quickly realized that there was a problem though. The cops were quickly surrounding the area and I was running out of exits. I found one route that didn't seem to be blocked off but once I got to the intersection a few cars showed up and were yelling at me to stop. I immediately just used the emergency button again causing the cops in the area to all start covering their ears and buying myself a little more time to get away. I turned off right afterwards though hoping I could avoid being found again.

I struggled sneaking back into my house this time considering just how banged up I was. It was going to be real tough to hide the scars and bruises from my dad. Luckily, the fiasco that had occurred kept him at work all the next day as well as Mom being in the hospital from her bullet wound. Once again she lied to authorities, claiming it was a random stray bullet from someone out to attack her in order to hide her real activities. Ted had left me message making up a story that my bruises and cuts came from participation in a real mixed martial arts fight. My Dad certainly knew that my Mom had been involved with the situation with the thieves but we were able to hide my involvement from him.

The police were able to apprehend the crew although Tyson Klik and the Dodger were still out there somewhere. After long discussions with my dad and Ted, my mom finally decided to hang up being the Canary for good. This last near death experience finally pushed her over the edge. The three of us all made a pact to stop the vigilante activity. Ted and Mom certainly didn't want it for me, and they were too far passed their prime. I knew I wouldn't hold up my end of it though.

I called JT a few days later with some more questions to ask.

"So do you think that you could fit more than one emergency button on the ear piece; one for a more close range sonic scream and one for a longer range?"

"Sure, I could…"

"What about a separate piece that I could throw. Almost like a sound bomb. Or just be able to place a speaker thing on one end of the building, and then activate it from the other side of the building. Then everyone would run over there expecting me and I could be somewhere else."

"Maybe but…."

"Or could you allow the sound piece to work both ways? Work as a hearing aid so I can hear footsteps or people talking louder than they are. But still have the capability to be a full headphone and shut off my hearing when I use the sonic scream?"

"Yo Laurel, I thought you all said that y'all out the vigilante game."

"Are you kidding me? The original Canary and Wildcat are out but Black Canary is just getting started. Our city is gradually becoming as corrupt as Gotham is and I want to do something about it. Honestly JT, there is nothing else in life I would rather do."

"You will need your Mom and Ted advice to do this."

"Maybe, but what I lack in experience, I can make up utilizing your tech. Plus, at some point they were rookies too. We'll be able figure things out."

"You mad crazy. You know that right?"

I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah," I said.

From that point on, I dedicated my life to learning the fighting techniques I thought would suit me best as well. I also started studying criminal psychology under the guise of preparing to be a detective or lawyer. I did my best to maintain my friends in the music world. They all teased me thinking that something was going on between me and JT.

"I'm happy for you though Laurel, you can deny the JT thing but you have definitely opened up more to us lately and seem happier," one friend said.

I guess once I had much bigger secrets, all the passed stuff I used to worry about didn't bother me anymore and I carried myself with much more confidence. I shared much more about my hobbies and feelings about things without any hesitation. Now I knew who I was and what I wanted to do in my life. For about the next two years I made plans about how I was going to become the next protector of Starling city and when those two years were up and I left the house for college, it was one of the happiest days of my life. I was no longer a caged bird; I could fully become the Black Canary. I felt like I had been living without my true voice; now Starling was going to hear the scream.


End file.
